Hideki Matsuyama was robbed at the airport after winning bronze at the Olympics

The first leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs begins Thursday at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, Tenn., but Olympic bronze medalist Hideki Matsuyama will be without his usual trainer and coach.

Matsuyama told Japan Golf Digest that they were robbed at London airport while returning from the Olympic Games in Paris, France. Matsuyama said his wallet was stolen, and his coach, Shota Hiyato, and coach, Mikhito Kuromiya, lost their passports and visas.

Hiyato and Kuromiya had to return to Japan to sort out their passport issues. The second playoff stop is next week’s BMW Championship in Colorado, and it’s unclear if they’ll be back in time.

Matsuyama told reporters that he is using Taiga Tabuchi this week, who is the regular singer of Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune.

“I’m going to play golf like I’m back to the way I was before I had a coach,” said Matsuyama. “I feel like all the responsibility is on me.”

Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, is ranked eighth in the FedEx Cup standings, which means he is in good shape to play in the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake.

He shot a final round 65 at Le Golf National outside Paris on August 4, which was good enough to secure the bronze medal by one stroke over Victor Perez. Matsuyama said his medal was not stolen.

Matsuyama was paired with Sahith Theegala in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which airs at 1:35 pm ET on Thursday.

Josh Behow

Golf.com Editor

As managing editor of GOLF.com, Berhow manages the day-to-day and long-term programming of one of the most widely read news and service websites in the sport. He spends most of his days writing, planning, organizing and wondering if he will ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and two children. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.